I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to communication, and more specifically to techniques for improving battery life of stations in wireless communication networks.
II. Background
Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These wireless networks include wireless wide area networks (WWANs) that provide communication coverage for very large geographic areas, wireless metropolitan area networks (WMANs) that provide communication coverage for large geographic areas, wireless local area networks (WLANs) that provide communication coverage for medium geographic areas, and wireless personal area networks (WPANs) that provide communication coverage for small geographic areas. Different wireless networks typically have different capabilities, requirements, and coverage areas.
A station (e.g., a cellular phone) may be capable of communicating with one or more wireless networks (e.g., a WWAN and/or a WLAN). The station may be portable and powered by an internal battery. The station may consume battery power whenever it is turned on, e.g., to transmit and/or receive data. It is desirable to reduce battery power consumption as much as possible in order to extend both standby time between battery recharges and operating time when the station is exchanging data. There is therefore a need in the art for techniques to improve battery life of the station.